


Learning

by ironxprince



Series: Blind Peter Parker AU [3]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blind Peter Parker, Gen, Matt Murdock is a Good Bro, POV Matt Murdock, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Matt Murdock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironxprince/pseuds/ironxprince
Summary: Matt teaches Peter how to be a blind vigilante.
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Peter Parker
Series: Blind Peter Parker AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757161
Comments: 12
Kudos: 279





	Learning

Matt had his suspicions about Spider-Man, but he had to be sure before he confronted the fellow masked vigilante.

He found Spider-Man sitting at the top of an apartment building late one night and Matt stilled his heartbeat, slowing his breathing, as he crept up behind him.

Spider-Man’s heartbeat was loud in front of him, breaths coming quick, but Spider-Man didn’t appear to have noticed him yet. Matt added that fact to his list of evidence.

“Hi there, Spider-Man.”

Spider-Man’s heartbeat sped up, and Matt crept to the right.

“Who’s there?” Spider-Man called shakily, voice directed at the spot Matt had been standing, a few feet off from where he was now.

Suspicions confirmed.

“Daredevil,” Matt supplied. He heard the swishing of Spider-Man’s clothing and the sound of shifting gravel beneath his feet as Spider-Man turned to his voice.

Matt held out his hand. Spider-Man didn’t take it. Either he was just being rude, or Spider-Man was blind.

“Daredevil,” Spider-Man echoed quietly.

“Like you, but for Hell’s Kitchen instead of Queens.”

“Yeah, I-I know who you are.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then, Matt spoke up.

“How long have you been blind?”

Spider-Man’s breaths quickened. “How did you know?”

“Takes one to know one.”

“You’re… _blind?_ ”

Matt nodded out of habit. “Always have been.” At least, _Daredevil_ always had been.

“But you looked so….”

Matt noticed the passed tense. “So _seeing?_ ” he finished with a grin.

Spider-Man’s heartbeat sped up. Embarrassment. He said nothing.

“You just nodded,” Matt noted.

“Oh. Um, yeah. Sorry.”

“You’ll get the hang of it.” Matt quieted his voice. “So how long has it been?”

Spider-Man took a deep breath. “A month. Head trauma.”

Matt nodded, a habit for his seeing friends, but spoke anyway, something he learned to do. “It happened to me when I was younger. Blinded by a radioactive substance.”

“Oh. … I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s what led me to become this, saving my city. And now I want to teach you.”

Matt heard rustles. Nervous fidgeting. “But… why? What’s in it for you?”

Matt turned his head to the street below, allowing himself to focus in on the horns and sirens, the cheers and laughter.

“There’s enough evil in this city,” he finally said, quietly. “New York needs all the good guys it can get.” Matt turned back to Spider-Man. “I’m Matthew Murdock.”

Spider-Man hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea, wondering if he could trust Matt. Desperation to control his new ability must’ve won out as he cleared his throat.

“Peter Parker.”

“Nice to meet you, Peter.” Matt held out his hand. “First challenge - I’m holding my hand out for you to shake. Follow my voice. Deduce where my hand is.”

It took him a minute, and Matt felt moving air around his hand a couple of times, but after a moment Peter’s hand found his. Matt shook it firmly. “Nice. But that’s more of a basic skill you should spend time practicing out in the real world. For now, I’m going to teach you how to fight.

“The most important thing in fighting while blind is to know your opponent - how they move, when they’re going to strike, and what they’re going to attack you with. To do this, you have to listen to their heartbeat.”

Peter laughed. When Matt said nothing, he stopped. “You can hear a heartbeat?”

“You can, too. You just need to focus.”

More nervous fidgeting from Peter’s end. “I dunno, Matt.”

“You’re enhanced, right?” Matt asked. “That’s the only explanation for how you move like you do, unless your suit is specially technologically engineered.”

Peter cleared his throat. “No, I’m enhanced.”

“Good. Then this should be easier for you. Once you figure out this skill, you’ll be able to use it to your own advantage to go on offense instead of just defense. You’ll be able to quiet your own heartbeat so perpetrators can’t hear you moving around in the dark.”

“You can change the speed of your heartbeat?”

“How do you think I crept up on you back there?”

“Good point.” Peter sighed. “Okay, teach me.”

“You’re hearing a lot of sounds right now, right? Tell me what you hear.”

“Um….” Peter paused for a moment. “Car horns. There’s laughter and conversation… a dog barking.”

“But no heartbeats.”

“No.”

“That’s because you’re focusing on the wrong things, things that don’t need your attention. Laughter, you can dismiss that.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll just turn my ears off.”

“Yeah.”

“ _What?_ ”

“The laughter is nothing to you. Acknowledge that you’re hearing it, but don’t focus on it. Think of it like meditation, like sending away a thought that enters your mind, or like turning a volume knob down.”

After a moment, Peter sighed in frustration. “Nothing’s happening.”

“It’s your first time, so it’s going to be a bit tricky. Try focusing on something else instead. Focus on my voice. Give that precedence in your mind. Let everything else fade away.”

“Okay… okay, I’ve got it.”

“Yeah?”

“Um, I think so-” Peter hissed suddenly, turning toward the street. He said it at the same time Matt did. “Ambulance.”

“That’s going to happen,” Matt told him over the noise. “You’re going to hear new things, sudden things, and you’re going to have to be able to dismiss them as soon as you hear them.”

Peter gasped, as if in pain. _Extra sensitivity_ , Matt noted.

“Okay, I think I’m getting the hang of it. It’s getting quieter.”

“That’s because it’s getting further away.”

“Oh,” Peter said after a moment.

“That’s alright. It’s tricky, and this is just your first time. Do you think it’s quiet enough for you to focus on my heartbeat now?”

Peter said nothing, and Matt assumed he was focusing, trying his hardest. Matt remained still for a couple of minutes, keeping his breathing calm and suppressing twitches and fidgeting. If Peter was going to be listening for something so faint, the smallest external noises would throw him off.

“I’ve got it,” Peter whispered, before replicating the thuds that lined up with what Matt himself was feeling. Matt smiled. Peter was a fast learner.

This was going to be fun.

“I’ll teach you to quiet your heartbeat later,” Matt informed him quietly. Peter would have to get over his sensitivity if he was going to fight effectively. For now, though, Matt would accommodate him. “For the moment, let’s work on honing that skill. I’m going to move around you, and you have to follow me. Once you get comfortable, I’ll try to land a few strikes. You’ve got to defend yourself, okay?”

Peter took a shaky breath before he shifted - into a fighting stance, Matt presumed.

“I’m ready,” Peter informed him.

“Let’s begin.”


End file.
